Reviews Cafe Green Tea

Cute little cafe that adds warmth to the adorable J-Town👘. I always love deep fried pork chops with ever so sweet Japanese curry (Katsu Curry-Don)! It's very tasty! The rice is best soaked in the sweet curry. One spoonful of drenched curry rice and another bite of the savory crispy pork chop, instantly transports me to heaven!😇 I love this cute little cafe and everything in J-Town. Very good for foodies like me to venture out and find new food adventures!🤗

Japanese Lunch At J-Town. E: Cafe Green Tea is a simple lunch restaurant serving westernized (shokudo/yoshoku) food skewing classic Japanese dishes like sushi or sashimi. The food is hardly marvellous, but it is not bad or pedestrian either.
The menu - er, the menu board overhead - offers Japanese omelette, curry (kare which is milder than the Indian variety), udon (thick wheat noodles), soba (cold or warm buckwheat noodle), katsu (deep fried cutlets of meat) tempura and dons (rice dishes).
My last couple of times there have ended up with katsudon on my plate, which I enjoyed. The quantity is adequate and the garnishes like sprouts and green onions are done right. It tastes home cooked because it almost is.
On one occasion someone ordered a katsu-kare (deep fried pork with curry) for me and it too was both simple and tasty. I was told that the curry is too "watery," which is correct, but I liked it. In a blindfold test I am unlikely to be able to tell the difference between the katsu I had here and the one I was served at a mom and pop in Kyoto, Japan. The garnishes like Tonkatsu sauce (likely the Bulldog brand of Japan or Kikkoman from the USA or Japan, which is approximately their equivalent to the Western Worcestershire sauce) or Fukujin Zuke (pickled vegetables like daikon or giant radishes) are always present with the appropriate meals (as they are next door of course).
They offer several hot and cold canned drinks, swirling juice and containers of water - the last one as a self-service. One swirling beverage container looks like coffee, but the cashier shakes her head at it warding customers away! I have imported my own drinks from Heisei Mart - see below - once or twice and they have not objected. Just for fun it would be good to actually order 'green tea' one day and see the cashier's face. I doubt they serve them there.
All in all, most cooked Japanese items are represented here and at below $10 price. If you are like me you will end up paying more on the day because wandering into the supermarket is inevitable (natchan and pocky!)
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A: In the atmosphere and ambiance department the name of the establishment is closer to the truth than it is to the menu. It looks like a barebones cafe with simple chairs and tables. It is attached to the J-Town (Japan Town, a small Japanese complex) supermarket Heisei Mart and owned by Keiko Hibino, the wife of Heisei's Takeshi Hibino. They get most of their supplies from the market they share a space with as well.
Like any quintessential Japanese cafe, Cafe Green Tea has a supply of Japanese magazines for diners' perusal.
The list and photographs of the items available is above the cashier's head. The items are listed in both Japanese and English.
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T: The service is quick here as one has to walk up to the cash to order. And I suggest you pay with cash. Their debit/credit card terminal is grimey. Do they expect one to touch that and eat after? Please clean your card terminal!
The food arrives quickly no matter what ones orders. Curry or katsudon or tonkatsu are delivered to the table within 5 to 10 minutes.
Parking is a bigger issue. I usually end up driving around two corners to park in the back because, as mentioned, this restaurant is attached to a grocery store as well as several other Japanese businesses.
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S: At Cafe Green Tea one places an order at the cash, picking from the board, obtains a number and sits at any available table. The cashier or one of the cooks then brings the food to the table. In that sense, there is no service, checks or follow-ups. One is expected to leave the emptied tray or plate on the rack near the cash once one has eaten.

Next time, I'm definitely reverting back to the Curry or give the Katsudon a try. I also found out that there's another 'food court/restaurant' at the other end of Jtown (past the butcher area). It's a sushi/sashimi place that also has set meals.

I have been here many time given that I use to work nearby a few years ago which means I end up having lunch here quite a bit... Cafe Green Tea is located inside Heisei Mart, the J-Town Supermarket, so it great to shop while waiting for food ;)

I find myself coming back again and again for one thing and one thing only... 

Katsu-Don $7.98
It's a bowl of rice topped w/ deep-fried pork cutlet, egg and fill with a yummy onion sauce/broth. This is my favorite katsu-don in Toronto and the kind of comfort food, perfect when served piping hot in the winter.
Love how the rice are immerse in the sauce, there's more of everything then rice.... It's such a heart-warming dish.

Cold Soba $5.98
I always see people order this, so I decided to finally try it but really there's nothing special about this... def something you can easily made at home.

We also usually drop by Sakanaya, the mini fish market next door to grab a sashimi platter. And a hint, they discount these platter by 50% or more at the end of the day ;)

Verdict: ♥ their Katsu-Don and will be back again and again for it
And no harm in dropping by next door for some fresh sashimi